ESPN is expected to retain one of its pillars.
The Post has confirmed that Stephen A. Smith and ESPN are close to an agreement on a contract extension, as first reported by Brian Steinberg at Variety.
The outlet reported that Smith’s reps at WME have had discussions for ESPN’s parent company to have a “first look” deal associated with Smith’s production company, Mr. SAS Productions.
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported the deal, which has not yet been finalized, is around six years and $120 million.
Earlier this year, Smith’s production company released a documentary “Up For Debate: The Evolution of Sports Media” for the ESPN+ streaming platform.
Spokespeople for ESPN and WME declined to comment to The Post.
Smith has been candid about wanting to be the highest-paid talent at ESPN after the network signed deals with Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pat McAfee that had leapfrogged him.
In June, Puck’s John Ourand reported that ESPN initially offered Smith $18 million a year and that he was seeking $25 million annually.
Smith has been a featured voice on the “First Take” debate program since 2012, sparring for several years with Skip Bayless and later Max Kellerman.
After Smith pushed Kellerman off the program in 2021, he has debated a rotating cast of co-hosts, including Shannon Sharpe, Cam Newton and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.
Smith is also an analyst on the “NBA Countdown” studio show.
Beginning next season, ESPN will license the iconic “Inside the NBA” show from TNT, but “NBA Countdown” will still exist on other nights.
Smith has been vocal about wanting to be the eventual replacement for Jimmy Kimmel in the event the late-night host leaves his perch at ABC.
It is likely that Smith could have cobbled together deals involving NBA studio work with NBC or Amazon plus a cable news contributor contract and other gigs that would have added up to a substantial amount of money, but it would have been difficult for him to find a better situation than he has with ESPN and Disney.